Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

I’ve written and recorded a lot of evidence-based content over the years on just about everything you can imagine related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. I’ve also worked with thousands of men and women of all ages and circumstances and helped them get into the best shape of their lives. That doesn’t mean you should blindly swallow everything I say, though, because let’s face it—nobody is always right about everything. And especially in fields like diet and exercise, which are constantly evolving thanks to the efforts of honest and hardworking researchers and thought leaders. This is why I’m always happy to hear from people who disagree with me, especially when they have good arguments and evidence to back up their assertions. Sometimes I can’t get on board with their positions, but sometimes I end up learning something, and either way, I always appreciate the discussion. That gave me the idea for this series of podcast episodes: publicly addressing things people disagree with me on and sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:59 - “Incline bench pressing is a waste of time.” 10:50 - “The trap bar deadlift is a crappy exercise. It’s an unstable and dangerous deadlift.” 21:16 - “If you want to build a great physique, you just need to get really strong on your big exercises.” Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

What’s the best time of day to lift weights? Search for an answer to that question online and you’ll learn that there are basically two schools of thought on this issue: It’s best to train in the late afternoon or evening. It doesn’t much matter when you train. Proponents of the first position point to studies that show athletes perform better later in the day and claim that if you do the same, you’ll be able to use heavier weights in your workouts and gain more muscle and strength as a result. Advocates of the second position claim that although most people have better workouts in the evening, your body can also adjust to morning workouts over time, nullifying any benefits of training in the evening. Who’s right? Is training in the latter half of the day really superior to training in the first half? And if so, is the difference enough to matter? Or, can you get equally good results regardless of what time you train? Keep listening to learn what science says. 3:16 - What are circadian rhythms? 4:45 - The sleep-wake cycle 7:21 - The body temperature cycle 9:01 - The testosterone cycle 11:10 - What do studies say about the best time of day to lift weights? 17:26 - Does training in the evening create an optimal hormonal environment for building muscle? 19:11 - What is the best time of day to lift weights? 21:21 - Tips for training in the morning Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

I’m often asked about how to make money in the fitness space. One obvious route is becoming a coach or personal trainer. This can be done in-person or online, but if you can help people get into shape, build muscle, and lose fat, and know how to market yourself, you can earn a decent income. And I’ve talked before about building an online coaching business and becoming a successful coach. Another path, though, is content marketing. This can be monetized in various ways, but it all begins with creating high-quality content that provides value. This is also something I’ve discussed on the podcast with the likes of Lou Schuler, but today’s episode is a bit different. Specifically, I’m having a fireside chat with David Tao, the founder and CEO of BarBend. In case you’re not familiar with BarBend, it’s a hub for all things strength related: news coverage, training and nutrition articles, product reviews, and more. And David isn’t a new kid on the block—he wrote for Fortune and Greatist.com before creating Barbend and turning it into what it is today. So, who better to discuss building a media business than someone who found a gap in the market, and carved out their own niche by creating unique, valuable content and grew it into the premier news source on strength sports. In this episode, David and I talk about . . . How he seized an opportunity to “scratch his own itch” Why creating content is hard and the biggest mistakes creators make The importance of staying top of mind The beginning of BarBend as a news outlet and when he realized it could be successful Monetization (advertising and sponsorship) His biggest mistakes that turned into lessons His game plan for the future And more . . . So, if you want to learn how David created a strength sports content empire from scratch, listen to this episode and let me know what you think! 8:01 - What was the opportunity you saw? 16:29 - When starting out, should you focus on quality over quantity? 324:35 - How did you start out? 30:04 - At what point in that first year did you see signs of life? 38:07 - How did you go from having a great idea to having a viable business? 49:34 - What are some of the worst decisions that you made that later became great lessons? 59:16 - What are your future plans? Mentioned on The Show: BarBend Website: https://barbend.com/ BarBend Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbend/ BarBend Podcast: https://barbend.com/podcast/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: http://buylegion.com/mike --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

I’ve recorded hundreds of episodes of Muscle for Life on a huge variety of things related to health, fitness, and lifestyle, ranging from the basics of diet and exercise like energy and macronutrient balance and progressive overload and training frequency and volume to fads like the ketogenic and carnivore diet and collagen protein to more unfamiliar territories like body weight set point and fasted cardio.Some episodes resonate with my crowd more than others, but all of them contain at least a few key takeaways that just about anyone can benefit from (that’s what I tell myself at least).And as cool as that is, it poses a problem for you, my dear listener:Ain’t nobody got time for that.Well okay, some people do make the time to listen to most or even all of my podcasts, but my wizbang analytics tell me that while many listeners tune in on a regular basis, they don’t catch every installment of Muscle for Life and thus miss out on insights that could help them get a little better inside and outside the gym.People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As.And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes?This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to.So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes:5:04 - Eric Helms on the Science of Preparing for a Natural Bodybuilding Show15:32 - Should You Do Cardio or Weightlifting First? What 20 Studies Say24:30 - Motivation Monday: When You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything---Mentioned on The Show:Eric Helms on the Science of Preparing for a Natural Bodybuilding Show(Published9/30/16) https://legionathletics.com/eric-helms-podcast/Should You Do Cardio or Weightlifting First? What 20 Studies Say(Published12/5/18) https://legionathletics.com/cardio-or-weights-first-podcast/Motivation Monday: When You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything (Published7/16/18) https://legionathletics.com/motivation-monday-do-anything/Books by Mike Matthews:https://legionathletics.com/products/books/Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

More and more people are looking to build a home gym these days.Whether you want to save on membership fees, cut down on your commute time to the gym, or are currently dealing with a closed gym due to corona, building a home gym makes a lot of sense.The prospect is exciting. You’ll never have to wait for equipment, smell that one StinkyGuy™, or withstand awful gym playlists again.But once your eyes have begun to sparkle with the promise of an iron utopia, how do you actually realize the dream? What equipment should you buy and how should you set everything up?The good news is thanks to high-demand for home gym equipment and the power of the unfettered free market, supply is ample and options are plentiful. So whether you want to set something up in your studio apartment or have a 3-car garage you can convert into a full-fledged gym, there’s probably a slew of products that will fit the bill.In fact, the choices can be downright daunting.That’s why I’ve tagged in a home gym equipment expert, Cooper Mitchell, to join me on this episode of the podcast. Cooper runs a website called GarageGymReviews.com, which features (as the name implies) product reviews and articles all about setting up a home gym. He’s tested over 300 barbells, 250 squat racks, 50 bumper plates, and more, so he has his finger on the pulse and ear to the rubber flooring on this sort of stuff.In this podcast, Cooper covers . . .How much money and space you’ll need (and how to make the most of that space)Equipment for an "essentials gym" as well as add-on bonus recommendationsAdjustable dumbbell optionsModular racks, leg press options, belt squats, and kettlebell considerationsAnd more . . .So if you’re interested in decking out your garage and turning it into a bona fide home gym without breaking the bank, this episode is for you!9:15 - Who should and shouldn’t create a home gym?11:26 - How much money do I need for a home gym?17:51 - How much space do I need for a home gym?20:52 - Are there any downsides to using a PRX machine?27:46 - What are some low budget equipment recommendations? What type of equipment would you recommend if money isn’t a problem?33:17 - Any tips for buying used items?34:48 - What are your thoughts on Bowflex adjustable dumbbells?39:03 - Are there any add-ons worth considering?43:06 - Have you tested any leg press machines?49:07 - Any information on kettlebells?51:57 - Is there anything else that you would like to mention?56:05 - Where can people find you and your work?Mentioned on The Show:Garage Gym Reviews Website:https://www.garagegymreviews.com/Garage Gym Reviews YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_zy48AlwwGpdJEka1ay7wGarage Gym Reviews Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/garagegymreviews/Home Gym Community:https://www.facebook.com/groups/homegymcommunityBooks by Mike Matthews:https://legionathletics.com/products/books/Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Clap your hands if you’ve heard this one before:“Muscles don’t know weight, only tension.”It’s an old bodybuilding saw that’s been around for decades, and it’s shorthand for the theory that the key driver of muscle growth is how long your muscles are working (contracting) during your workouts.For example, if you do one set of 8 reps and each rep takes about 5 seconds, your time under tension for that set is 40 seconds (8 x 5). If you do three sets of the exercise, your total time under tension is 120 seconds (40 x 3).According to proponents of this idea, the more time under tension you rack up over days, weeks, months, and years of training, the more muscle you’ll gain more or less regardless of any other training variable (intensity, frequency, volume, etc.).Is this true, though? Is time under tension really the biggest lever you can pull to build muscle?Not really.You see, time under tension is an important element of the training stimulus that produces muscle growth, but it’s best to think of it as a byproduct of proper training rather than a target in its own right.Let’s find out why.---Timestamps:3:16 - What does time under tension mean?7:52 - What do studies say about time under tension?13:28 - How should I program time under tension?---Mentioned on The Show:Books by Mike Matthews:https://legionathletics.com/products/books/Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

I’ve churned through over 150,000 emails, social media comments and messages, and blog comments in the last 6 years. And that means I’ve fielded a ton of questions. As you can imagine, some questions pop up more often than others, and I thought it might be helpful to take a little time every month to choose a few and record and share my answers. So, in this round, I answer the following three questions: 1) Do you consider fiber intake in your daily total carbohydrate?  2) Should I stay away from soy?  3) Should you not combine certain macronutrients in certain meals? If you have a question you’d like me to answer, leave a comment below or if you want a faster response, send an email to mike@muscleforlife.com. Recommended reading for this episode: https://legionathletics.com/how-much-fiber-should-you-get-every-day-and-why/ https://legionathletics.com/soy-protein-isolate/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:59 - Do you consider fiber intake in your daily total carbohydrate? 8:52 - Should I stay away from soy? 17:51 - Should you not combine certain macronutrients in certain meals? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Whether you’re totally new to the gym or have plenty of experience, you’ve likely struggled with trying to make sense of conflicting diet, training, and supplementation advice. No matter where you go online, for instance, you’re sure to find seemingly-credible people with completely different and often contradictory viewpoints and suggestions. Instagram influencer XYZ says the key to losing fat is a keto diet, with a strict 6-hour eating window on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. But Fitness Blog #532 of Guru Zed claims that studies show you can get ripped eating all of the carbs you’d like on any schedule you’d like. The key, he claims, is you just have to stop eating harmful, gut-destroying lectins found in nutritious foods like tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and peanuts. In fact, if you look hard enough in this space, you can find someone with bonafides making a seemingly plausible argument for doing just about anything you can imagine to boost fat loss and muscle growth. How do you separate the sheep from the goats? How do you know who to trust? That’s exactly what I’m discussing with this episode's podcast guest, Christian Finn. In case you’re not familiar with Christian, he’s a researcher and writer who holds a masters degree in exercise science and is the creator of Muscle Evo and Gutless, a science-backed nutrition system for getting rid of fat. His work has been featured in Men’s Health, Vice, BBC TV, as well as Jonathan Goodman’s PTDC. In this episode, we chat about . . . The cyclical nature of fads and fitness info Why expectations matter and the necessity of accepting diminishing returns How to separate the charlatans from the experts “Shiny object syndrome” When to change your mind and why your views should evolve over time When and why to switch training programs And more . . . So if you’ve ever wondered why there’s so much conflicting advice out there, and how you can be sure you’re not getting hoodwinked, listen to this episode. 6:43 - How did you use your time during COVID differently? 15:23 - Where should people start to get more progress? 22:31 - How does a person separate the wheat from the chaff? 34:38 - How do you deal with that process of changing your mind? 39:54 - What are some of the barriers people experience from conflicting ideas on fitness advice? When should someone consider switching training programs? --- Mentioned on The Show: Christian Finn’s Website & Books: https://muscleevo.net/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Keep on imagining, because all of this is a mirage. The reality is no food can directly cause fat loss. (Some foods are more conducive to fat loss than others, but that’s not the same as causing fat loss. More on this soon.) “What about foods that boost your metabolism, though?” you might be thinking. And that’s what brings us to the topic of this podcast: the thermic effect of food. Fitness magazines and “miracle diet” hucksters claim that eating foods with a high thermic effect is the secret to getting the body of your dreams. If only it were that simple. The thermic effect of food does play a role in your metabolism and weight loss and weight gain, but not in the way that many people would have you believe. That is, the foods you eat do affect your metabolism and the speed at which you lose or gain weight, but they aren’t the primary determinants. And in this podcast, we’re going to break it all down. By the end, you’re going to know what the thermic effect of food is and several science-based ways to use it to help improve your metabolism and achieve your fitness goals. 4:23 - What is the thermic effect of food? 8:26 - What happens when you eat and how does it relate to fat burning? 15:12 - What are the best foods for weight loss? 20:29 - Does eating more frequently boost your metabolism and help you lose weight faster? 23:17 - Can you raise the thermic effect of food? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Picking a workout routine can feel like picking a political candidate. Many people have strong opinions as to which is best and are often quick to denounce all other options. For instance, after reading about why the push pull legs routine is the best, you’ll find someone claiming that upper lower routines are better, and then another who plumps for body part training, and so on. It shouldn’t be this complicated, you’ve probably thought to yourself. And you’re right. It shouldn’t, and it doesn’t have to be. To escape this quagmire, you need to . . . Clarify your goals. Survey your options and learn their pros and cons. Choose the one that’ll help you achieve your ends as efficiently as possible. Now, if you’re like most people listening to this podcast, your goals are to build a muscular, proportionate, and strong body and maintain low but healthy levels of body fat. At first blush, full-body training would appear to be a perfect fit for the first goal, because, well, it trains every muscle in your body. Plus, it sounds a lot simpler than training different muscle groups every time you work out. There are many advocates of full-body workouts who say as much. This style of training, they claim, is not only simpler and easier to follow than other kinds of workout routines, but also more effective for gaining whole-body muscle and strength. So, if you want to learn the pros and cons of full-body workout routines, whether you should use one, and the best way to program them, you want to listen to this podcast. 5:31 - What is a full body workout routine? 10:26 - What are the advantages of full body training? 17:09 - What are the neurological or the systemic implications of full body training? 24:10 - Does full body training produce better results? 33:44 - Who should do full body training? 38:31 - How can you get the most out of your full body workout? 40:56 - How do you build a well-designed full body workout? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/